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Halmar the Vast
Halmar the Vast is a Nord explorer and merchant, former captain of the Kynesdottir. After losing his leg to a hideous accident during ship-to-ship combat, he has been forced to sell his ship and settle down; rather than rest on the laurels of his sailing days, however, the Windhelmian has decided to travel south, to Valton, searching for business opportunities (and milder weather).__FORCETOC__ Character Sheet Name: “Captain“ Halmar the Vast Age: 43 Race: Nord of Windhelm Gender: Male Birthsign: The Tower Height: 5‘11 Appearance: Broad-set and broad-shouldered, Halmar‘s name is well earned – though he may be a bit shorter than your average Nord, his bulk more than makes up for it. In fact, the raw muscle, together with his lush – if immaculately trimmed, lately – beard, stern, bushy eyebrows and hawkish (broken, twice) nose, might make the former Captain something of an imposing sight; only until he opens his mouth, though, shaking the windows with his booming laughter that may or may not have, on occasion, been mistaken for Thu’um. The only time his smile might waver is when his deep brown eyes happen to wander to his right leg – or what’s left of it, the entire limb from the knee down having been shorn straight off and replaced by a wooden peg-leg (oaken, with two steel plates on the sides). Class: Once a ship captain, Halmar’s injury has forced him to turn to more sedentary pursuits of late, throwing himself headfirst (the only way any Nord knows how) into matters of industry – in particular, the finer points of running a lumbermill. Skills: An old hand at sailing, many of the vast captain’s skills are decidedly nautical in character - from navigation, to slinging himself really far with a rope and managing to crashland on another person. Unfortunately, of those of his skills that may have transitioned better onto dry land – namely, his aptitude for personal combat, axe’n’board being his favoured method, – many have been taken down a few notches by his missing leg; fortunately, on the other hand, one such skill is his literacy, which, together with the sizeable wealth he came into during his captaining days and after selling his vessel alike, has allowed him to try his hand at teaching himself something about business, and the basics of supply and demand. As for opportunity - well, that mistress he’s known his entire life. Clothing/Armour: Simple, if tidy, clothes make up Halmar's wardrobe now that his leg has forcibly settled him down, the sort you might expect of a well-off Nord not yet Imperialized enough to get worked up about showing his wealth off. Most often, those are long coats, padded with fur on the inside, and thick, comfortable shirts that may look somewhat unassuming, but keep the warmth in well enough. On some few days, however, a keen eye might spot the glimmer of chainmail underneath his townsclothes, even if the former captain does not often find his hauberk worth donning anymore. Weapons: Sometimes, the captain can still be seen with his steel axe at his side - an utilitarian tool of war, perhaps, but clearly well-cared for. Miscellaneous items: Buried underneath all his clothes, Halmar always wears a small amulet of Talos around his neck, adamantly refusing to go anywhere near a temple without it. Personality: Gregarious and headstrong, Halmar has a true Nord’s temper. It takes a certain daring to slam your ship into another willingly; it takes a certain insanity to merely point your ship in the right direction, and attempt to head the boarding party immediately afterwards, trusting Kyne’s breath with the rest. Needless to say, the former captain has both in abundance, even if the loud and boisterous attitude of his youth has been (somewhat) chipped away by the harsh winds, and the loss of his leg. The latter, it must be said, still eats away at him quietly – never a heavy drinker earlier (at least, by Nordic standards), he has been known, lately, to drink himself into a stupor when the pain is at its worst, and disdain at his own cowardice never fails to linger over him the next morning as a near-literal stormcloud. Major flaw: His wooden prosthetic not only undercuts his mobility; the entire leg has been left unfortunately sensitive to the weather, greeting extreme cold or dampness with pangs of excruciating pain. Understandably, this wears at the captain’s temper something fierce. Background: “This is Windhelm. It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless; the people that grow here, even more so. The only upside? The sea – where other places have the Iliac, or the Topal Bay... ...we have the Sea of Ghosts.“ It was on that very same Sea of Ghosts that Halmar was raised, aboard his father's ship, the Kynesdottir; on that very same sea that he grew, had his first mead, his first love and first spoils; on that very same sea that he buried his father and took their ship's helm; on that very same sea that he hoped to grow old and wither - or to die suddenly in battle, running aground by the gates of Sovngarde. He traded, he fought, he explored, and there was nothing more he could ask of life. Alas, fate is fickler still than the winds. One fateful boarding, his leg was caught between some flimsy pirate boat and his beloved, mangled instantly beyond the point of salvation; worse still, complications dashed his hopes of carrying on prowling the waters between Skyrim and Atmora on one leg. Wracked with the pain of what once was his leg disagreeing with the fierce northern winds, Halmar was forced first aground, and then - south. South, to Valton, the new hold. If the gods kept him from the sea, he'd push frontiers on land. Even if the frontiers of industry seemed far less exciting than their nautical cousins. Trivia *Halmar's name is an obvious reference to Stoik the Vast from How to Train Your Dragon. On a relevant note, his creator prefers to imagine him using Gerard Butler's voice. Category:Nord Category:Character